Mercedes has made it clear that it does not suspect Ferrari of gaining any knowledge of its Formula 1 engine technology, despite the recent case surrounding engineer Ben Hoyle.

The German car manufacturer has taken Hoyle to court over suspicions that he tried to take engine data with him ahead of an imminent departure from the team's power unit department.

Court documents lodged by Mercedes said that Hoyle had been expected to join Ferrari, but the Italian team has insisted that, while informal talks took place, no agreement was reached for him to join it.

In a bid to ensure that there was no suggestion of Ferrari doing anything untoward, Mercedes issued a statement on Tuesday clarifying that it views the matter as being strictly between itself and Hoyle.

"The investigation has shown no reason to believe that information has been transferred to Ferrari, nor have any of the court documents made any allegation regarding any inappropriate conduct by Ferrari," said the Mercedes statement.

"Mercedes will continue to protect its interests, including carrying on the legal proceedings against Mr. Hoyle, and continue to protect against potential inappropriate transfer of confidential information within the motorsport industry."

Investigation continues

Mercedes says it expects its investigation in to Hoyle's activities to continue for several months yet.

"There are on-going internal investigations, regarding confidential information being removed from Mercedes by Mr. Hoyle, in order to protect against potential damage to both Mercedes and any company which could potentially receive such information," he said.

"Mercedes will continue with these investigations until it can conclude that all the confidential information is recovered, which is anticipated to take a further 2-4 months."